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NORRISTOWN — The next stop is prison for a Red Hill man who was driving his pickup truck while intoxicated and caused a crash during which he struck and injured two motorcyclists on an Upper Hanover roadway.
William Gross, 59, of the 300 block of Main Street, was sentenced in Montgomery County Court to 4 to 8 years in a state correctional facility after he pleaded guilty to charges of aggravated assault by vehicle while driving under the influence of alcohol, recklessly endangering other persons and DUI general impairment in connection with the April 22, 2022, crash.
Judge Steven T. O’Neill, who accepted a plea agreement in the case, ordered Gross to surrender to prison officials on Aug. 15 to begin serving the sentence.
Assistant District Scott Frame sought a state prison term against Gross.
“This defendant decided that that night he was going to get behind the wheel of a vehicle after imbibing an amount of alcohol that rendered him incapable of safely driving. As a result of that, two innocent motorcyclists who were going about their night now have their lives changed forever,” said Frame, adding drinking and driving won’t be tolerated. “When you hurt people, like happened in this case, we seek very significant state prison sentences.”
Gross decided to plead guilty to the charges during a pretrial hearing.
The victims were not in court but a victim services specialist for Mothers Against Drunk Driving Pennsylvania attended the hearing.
The investigation began about 8:24 p.m. April 22, when state police at Skippack responded to a report of a three-vehicle crash at the intersection of John Fries Highway, also known as Route 663, and Geryville Pike in Upper Hanover. Witnesses reported that the striking vehicle, a pickup truck, drove away from the scene.
A witness observed a GMC Canyon pickup truck with front and side damage traveling near the crash site and followed the vehicle to a parking lot for an apartment building in the 300 block of Main Street in Red Hill and notified police, according to the criminal complaint. The witness observed a male, later determined to be Gross, get out of the truck and walk to a Dumpster and heard the sound of bottles being disposed before Gross entered the apartment building, according to the arrest affidavit.
State police responded to the apartment building and observed the pickup truck to have damage to the passenger side and “a large impact mark on the front right corner and windshield,” and “multiple marks and blood on the side doors consistent with a crash.”
“Both windows on the passenger side were shattered. There was a strong odor of an alcoholic beverage coming from inside the truck through the broken windows,” state police Trooper Joseph Gilbert alleged in the criminal complaint.
When investigators contacted Gross at his apartment he was “visibly intoxicated” and he advised that he was involved in a crash, police said. Gross claimed he was traveling south on Route 663 and that as he turned left onto Geryville Pike he heard a loud impact on his right side, according to the arrest affidavit.
“He advised he did not stop. He continued to his residence where he quickly drank a beer and had a shot of alcohol. He related after he consumed the alcoholic beverages he contacted 911,” Gilbert alleged.
Based on witness statements, investigators looked inside the Dumpster near Gross’ truck and observed a case of beer bottles, specifically 10 empty bottles inside a cardboard 12-pack box.
“Gross had bloodshot eyes and a strong odor of an alcoholic beverage coming from his breath and person. His speech was slurred,” Gilbert alleged, adding Gross at that time was placed under arrest for DUI and leaving the scene of a crash.
Gross refused a chemical blood test and requested a lawyer, police said.
The investigation determined that the two male motorcyclists were traveling northbound on Route 663 approaching Geryville Pike, when Gross’ pickup truck, which was southbound on Route 663, failed to yield the right of way to oncoming traffic and turned left onto Geryville Pike in front of the two motorcycles, according to the criminal complaint.
One motorcyclist suffered fractures to his wrist and femur and a head injury. The second motorcyclist suffered fractures to his wrist, hand and ankle. Both victims were transported to a local hospital for treatment.
Gross pleaded guilty to DUI general impairment and no blood-alcohol concentration was listed in court papers.
“We would have argued at trial that the signs and symptoms of impairment that were outlined by the responding police were consistent with some level of alcohol use that would deem him incapable of safely driving due to imbibing alcohol,” Frame explained.
“The victims were seriously injured. They are recovering from the injuries. They’re going to have to deal with the effects of those injuries for the remainder of their lives,” Frame said.
Other charges of accidents involving death or personal injury, or leaving the scene of a crash, and summary traffic violations were dismissed against Gross as part of the plea agreement.
Defense lawyer Noah Gladstone represented Gross during the court proceedings.
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